Student maintenance grants are to rise by 5 per cent in the next academic year to almost £200 a month at the maximum rate, the Minister for Education and Science, Dr Woods, has announced.
He said the rise was "over and above inflation and will ensure that the real value of the grants to students is maintained".
About 40 per cent of the 112,000 students in third-level education qualify for grants. The total cost of such supports last year was more than £82 million.
Under the new package, students eligible for the highest rate of maintenance grant under the Higher Education Grants Scheme will receive £1,775 in the nine-month academic year. Students qualifying for full maintenance, but living 15 miles or less from the college, will receive £710.
A 5 per cent increase in the income limits to qualify for grants has also been approved. A family with fewer than four children can earn up to £20,200 before losing full maintenance and full fees grants.
For the same sized family, the income limit for part maintenance and full fees is £21,400, for full fees only £24,100 and for part fees only £25,500.
The increases apply to both third-level and Post-Leaving Certificate courses, which were eligible for grants for the first time in 1998/99.
Dr Woods said the grants scheme was complemented by a range of measures aimed at providing equal access to higher education.
Funding for programmes under the Disadvantaged Fund, including the Student Assistance/Access Fund and the Special Fund for Students with Disabilities, has increased from £400,000 in 1998 to £3.4 million this year.
An information booklet entitled Guide to Grant Assistance for Further and Higher Education 2000 is being made available to schools, local authorities and Vocational Education Committees. It is also available on the Department's website: www.irlgov.ie/educ
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